". Arranged Words: Maestro
Showing posts with label Maestro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maestro. Show all posts

19 Apr 2016

Knitting Projects ~ Tulip Tree Shawl


The tulip tree shawl has been in my knitting basket with just three rows left to knit for a long time, so hurray to a finish.  I had hoped to make it larger, but I didn't have enough yarn. Raverly page here.

Enjoyable, meditative, and patience enhancing are just a few of the things/qualities that knitting brings to me and probably a whole host of other knitters, although I can't speak for them. I wish I could do more of it, but about three years ago arthritis struck suddenly and with it came tendonitis, so I was forced to put my needles aside. On the bright side, I've still managed to finish a few projects, including my Rosetta Mitts pattern in 2015. And I've nearly finished knitting another pair of those mitts in yellow, but I've put them away for now.  

Drawing and painting are so much easier on the hands. It's a reinvention of sorts, but one that I really love, too.

For those who may not know, lace knitting looks rather like a jumble of uncooked noodles (forgot to take a pic) and then it morphs into a fine tuned garment once soaked and then blocked.

An old yoga mat that's been cleaned to use as a blocking mat.
After blocking, I noticed the bottom points looked flat, so I re-wet and re-pined those points to sharpen them.
The yarn has a golden hue, but the camera had other ideas.

You will find the free Rosetta Mitts pattern here.

A Maestro cutout from an earlier painting. I usually cut any trash bin paintings into strips and use the white side of the strips to test paint on. But even though he's not finished, I couldn't cut through this birdie. The cutout might work in a shadow box, or as a book mark, although it may be too delicate for that.

Warm weather arrived on Sunday. It was 19C or 66.2 F. The crowd that had been hibernating most of the winter were about and about...many in shorts and flip flops.  Although those temps are cool, the spring sun was warm...hot even. Liberation! 
As the woman in the woods,  and I saw one of the first harbingers of spring: a  Mourning Cloak Butterfly. I've never seen or heard about one before. What a surprise! Another first for my nature journal.

A huge thank you for all your kind comments and support for my wee new shoppe.
xo

Have a lovely week...

5 Apr 2016

Shoppe Launch Plus the Maestro

I opened a shop on Tictail. I heard about Tictail on Instagram, and I really liked their store front  designs, coupled with a straight forward setup. They have a wide range of stores--from upscale to individual craft stores. 
At this point, my little corner shoppe has a few prints on offer. (I'll add more prints as time goes on. Hopefully, a few more in blue, too.)  You can find the shoppe here.

The Maestro.
I had originally planned black tie but, being me, I couldn't resist painting his tails blue.
Work in progress. I call this point the breath holding stage ~  one slip of the brush and it could be all over but the crying. 

I used Fabriano Artistico 140 lb watercolour paper. I prefer painting on Fabriano paper because if I drop paint, I can usually lift it without damaging the paper. It's sturdy.
 For music buffs, yes that's a radical treble cleft.  Actually, it's a bird cleft for bird notes. :)

* * * 

There's still time to enter the giveaway for your choice of one of two prints that I am giving away to celebrate my shoppe opening. It's open to new/recent followers as well as those who have been reading along--some for almost three years now. xo  
Thanks to each one of you! 

To enter please leave a comment. Here's the link.

'Til next time. Have a lovely week!

15 Dec 2015

For the Birds

"All is Bright"

If you've been reading along, you will know that I love birds. I'm always happy to go to the woods to watch them or just sit somewhere and listen to them sing. In the winter the world is quieter, but, just now, the little chickadees are still singing their happy song. 

You may remember this little fellow. I originally painted him last year using mostly FW inks; however,  because he tickles my fancy so much, I decided to give him another go using mostly watercolours.


I've drawn five birds recently. Four of them border on the exotic; two are from Africa, and all have bits and bobs from my imagination. I hope to start painting them early in the New Year.

The Maestro
A preliminary sketch also to be painted in the New Year. I outlined this little fellow in red  so that he would show up better. A steady hand helps. Mine wavers as soon as I concentrate on drawing a straight line. It's like carrying a large tray of tea and looking down at it and then, sometimes, it can be all over but the crying. :)

But I digress... I think this birdie is about to conduct The Magic Flute, or is that lyre?


Lady Slipper with bluebells on Fabriano Artistico 300lb (640gsm) hot press paper. I'd like to scale this up and add more flowers...some day.  This is the first time I used Fabriano's heavy paper. What a difference in how the paint flows on different weights and makes of paper.
 
There's also a small drawing of a part of my Christmas Cactus ready to be painted on a cold pressed watercolour card for someone.

 If you are preparing for Christmas, I hope all is running along like clockwork. Things are ticking along here and I am having fun. I'll be making cookies etc. this weekend. It's  such a lovely time of year! 

Enjoy...